May 22, 2023 • 18 mins
Colin gives his instant reaction to the Heat taking a 3-0 Eastern Conference Finals lead after a 128-102 blowout home win over the Celtics, and the biggest move Boston needs to make in the offseason to return to the Finals. Then, he looks at the Nuggets 3-0 dismantling of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and if L.A. needs a major overhaul despite a deep playoff run.
Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Herd #Volume
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. Hi, everybody, instant reaction. I decided to do
this instant reaction. And the Celtics heat game, there's still
a couple of minutes remaining. There were warning signs now,
(00:25):
I you know, I just thought there was such a
talent disparity with Boston and Miami. But remember during the
Atlanta series with the Celtics, and remember Quinn Snyder got
hired by Atlanta by the Hawks in late February. All Right,
so he's implementing a system in season. That's not easy.
(00:46):
Quinn Snyder's an excellent coach, right, we know that he
got worn out of Utah. They didn't get tired of him.
He got tired of them. He didn't think he could
compete at the highest levels. So he had Donovan Mitchell
and Rudy Gobairt didn't get along. There was infighting, and
he just said I'm done. But if you go back
(01:06):
to Game three of that series, Atlanta scored one hundred
and thirty points on these Celtics. Game four, Atlanta scored
one hundred twenty one. Game five they scored one hundred
and nineteen. Game six, one hundred and twenty. Remember during
that series, we kept saying boy, Atlanta's getting a lot
of good looks. Quinn Snyder in that series got buried
(01:28):
in game one, started making adjustments as an excellent coach.
That was a very competitive six game series, and Game
six the Celtics won that one twenty eight one twenty.
Remember that game though, it was in doubt with about
three and a half minutes to go, and then you
look at Philadelphia. Good God, the Sixers have to be humiliated.
(01:52):
I mean, the Celtics disposed of them in Game six
and seven, but now you look at it and think, boy, Philadelphia,
they got real issues. Mike Budenholzer won one game against Miami.
So first of all, my takeaway is before we bury
the Celtics, I've had six or seven doctors in my life.
(02:14):
I had a bad doctor, and think of what you
have to go through to get licensed to be a doctor.
We've had bad pilots, bad doctors, bad lawyers. I've had
a bad lawyer years ago. Think what you have to
go through to be a lawyer. There's a lot of
average coaches in the NBA, and we've seen Eric Spolstra
expose them right. Coaches like Doc Rivers who are more
(02:39):
culture based, not really adjustment Maven's and I think Joe
Missoula for the Celtics is completely over his head. You know,
a good coach will find your weaknesses. You know, they'll
attack your weakest defender. They'll find mismatches throughout the course
of a series or a game and attack. Attack forced
you to make a chess move. Joe Mizzoula doesn't. I
(03:01):
feel like Joe Mizzoula is playing defense against Eric Spolstra.
I think the Heat were aggressive, They're attacking, They're creating
mismatched situations. It feels like I really felt about eight
minutes into this game. I think the Boston players don't
buy into Joe Miszula. So it's easy today, Let's trade everybody.
It happens. You got to get rid of the coach.
(03:23):
You can't go from last year's Celtics team defensively to
this mess. Atlanta scored one hundred and twenty plus, they
got rid of their coach. Of Philadelphia an uneven team
with you know, Harden. Every other game is awful. Maxi
is ascending, but he's not there as a two. Tobias
Harris is an overpaid three, probably a four, and Embiid
(03:46):
was banged up. They took the Celtics seven. So listen, man,
there is a gap between Eric Spolstra and the rest
of the Eastern coaches, and you are seeing it, and
so I think you just have to move on. Remember
the Arizona Cardinal Steve Wilkes one year boom Cleveland Browns
Freddie Kitchens didn't give him very long. You got into
(04:06):
that situation you had to hire a new coach because
the previous coach, who you really liked, a defensive specialist,
a stickler for details, got you to the finals where
you really outplayed the Warriors in the finals two to
three games. Jason Tatum was banged up and kind of
fell apart. That was a well coached series. You just
ran out of gas against the Warriors last year. This
(04:29):
team's poorly coached defense is a mess with the same
dudes mostly from last year. So do I think the Celtics,
because they underachieved, have to tweak beyond that? I think
the Tatum Brown thing is never going to be ideal.
Should be noted d Wade and Lebron were not a
(04:49):
perfect fit. There's been all sorts of great fits stocked
in them alone without titles and weird fits d Wade
and Lebron kind of the same player, neither a great
limit player, both can drive and score, both physical, both defend,
both really strong for their size. That wasn't perfect. They
made it work, so you don't have to be ideal.
(05:10):
Not everybody's going to be Jokich and Jamal Murray this
year where the big, the perimeter player, both of the
chip on their shoulder, both in their athletic prime. You know,
I feel like you know Jalen Brown and Tatum you
get your wings. Marcus Smart's not your classic point guard.
He's a defensive guard. I think they have to not reboot,
(05:31):
but slightly reconstruct this team. I feel too often it
takes them a while to get into a play. Too
much dribbling takes them a while to get into a play.
I wish they had somebody that could just a confident
floor leader that could hit threes. Jordan Poole won't happen,
but throw it out there. They need somebody with confidence
(05:52):
that can shoot the big three. You could have somebody
that doesn't have to be a great defender. Because Robert
Williams is Tatum, is Brown, is Marcus Smart is Al
Horford's not but you don't need a great defender. Give
me somebody who's confident, who can hit a three. I
don't care if they make mistakes. That's why I've mentioned
Jordan Poole. This team needs somebody to get the Celtics
(06:15):
into the play. I don't trust them in tight games.
I don't trust them sometimes. I feel like they're just
missing their quarterback. They've got multiple wide receivers, they don't
have a quarterback, and I don't like Tatum in that role,
and I mostly don't love Jalen Brown in that role.
I don't think you have to make sweeping changes, but
(06:37):
I'd rework the point guard space for them. You know,
as far as the Miami Heat go, I have no
problem with the Miami Heat Denver Nuggets final. It will
not rate from a TV perspective. You know Denver and Miami.
Miami's got a great brand, Denver doesn't. I think it'll
be a fascinating series. I think the size, length and
offensive excellence of Denver is going to and I think
(07:01):
they're well coached. It could be a lot for Miami
to handle. Miami's doing a lot of this on coaching
and self belief. They're not this good But when you
have massive coaching mismatches, this is what a series looks like.
I mean, Eric Spolstra against Mike Budenholzer, it's a mismatch.
Eric Spolstra against Joe Missoula, it's a mismatch. I remember
(07:22):
when Nick Saban got to the SEC. You know, Nick Smart.
Nick Saban in recent years didn't get dumb. He's just
facing better coaches. Lane Kiffin's now in there, Kirby Smart's
now in there. Some of the bigger programs have really
bright young coaches. It's not like Nick Saban can't coach.
He got dumber. He's got worse players. He just had
(07:44):
Bryce Young. He's got great quarterback play, star receiver, stars everywhere.
But when he walked into that conference, I mean there
was a bunch of C and D level coaches and
Nick Saban walked all over them. And I think, I
think Eric Spolstra and his staff look around and it's
really jv. I mean, Tibbs is all about defense and effort. Budenholzer,
(08:10):
you know, couldn't figure out some basic late game situational coaching.
Missoula is completely over his skis. So this is a
lot of coaching and self belief. I don't think you
blow the Celtics up. I think you fire the coach,
get a new guy, and figure out the defense with
the better coach will be fine. It's got good length.
(08:32):
You have a lot of guys in their prime. I
mean your stars, Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, all
good defenders, all plus defenders. That's not the issue. Got
to get a real coach, give me a floor. General
just it just seems too hard too often for them. Offensively.
Miami's going to go on an underdog to Denver. They
(08:53):
should put a great story. There's a reason they call
it heat culture. We see this all the time in
sports and it all so can I throw this out there.
It validates Lebron James going to Miami. It does make
me question why he ever left. I think Lebron didn't
like to be the NBA's villain, so he went back
to Cleveland. But I absolutely believe if he stays, he
(09:16):
wins titles. Probably not. The following year Dwayne Wade was aging.
They had to make some moves. Chris Bosh not long
after that had a health issue, a medical issue. But
it really does make you look at Lebron going to
Miami and Lebron's made really good business decisions in his career.
(09:39):
You choose Spolstra, you choose d Wade, you choose pat Riley.
Look at what they're doing. I mean this is I
don't remember ever seeing a favorite Boston go into a
series and get humiliated. I couldn't take the last time
a favorite open a series at home and lost both games.
(10:01):
I'm sure it's happened recently, I don't remember it. Quick
break thoughts on the Lakers Nuggets Next? How great have
the NBA playoffs been so far? If you live in
one of those cities and wanted to go to the games,
there is only one place to get tickets. The game
Time App, the fastest growing ticketing app in the US
(10:25):
for last minute amazing deals. They don't stop with the NBA.
They do baseball, hockey, concerts, comedy shows too. Download the
game Time App and use the code colin cliin get
twenty dollars off your first purchase twenty bucks off first purchase.
(10:47):
Terms apply again. Download the game Time App use the
code colin celi in last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed.
The game Time app the fastest growing sports app in
the United States use the code Colin C l N.
(11:14):
All right, So the Lakers may salvage a game against
the Nuggets, but the Nuggets are longer, they're more dynamic,
they have more good shot makers. Just think about it
this way, generally speaking, generally, if you have a competent coach,
the Celtics don't. Darvin Ham's a competent coach. If you
have a competent coach, whatever teams stars or in their
(11:36):
prime is a big advantage. Jamal Murray's in his prime,
Jokic in his prime, Michael Porter in his prime, Lebron's
four years pasted it, and ad in my opinion, has
several good years left. But I think because of his
early injuries, he's you're either pre prime, prime or post prime.
(11:58):
He's post prime, he just entered post. Austin Reeves is
limited athletically. D'Angelo Russell is a bounce around the league guy. Talented,
but you saw in this series he's a bounce around
the league guy. There's a reason the Warriors gave up
on him, the Lakers did, the t Wolves did, and
the Lakers will again. He's a bounce around the league guy. Immature,
not consistent. I don't think he's a terribly smart basketball
(12:19):
player on the floor. He doesn't play smart basketball. Lebron
demands that, so but it is interesting. I mean, Denver's
a better team with more shot makers. Let's just right there.
You can blame it on Lebron, but if you look
at Lebron's points, rebounds, and assists per game in this series,
it's on Larry Bird's career average in the postseason. It's
(12:41):
not Lebron. Yes, he's shooting way too many threes late
in the game. That's to conserve energy. But he you know,
he's giving you about twenty three points, you know, tenn assists,
nine rebounds. That's not the issue. The issue is the
further you go in the postseason in the NBA, often
your your role players shrink. And that's why I bring
(13:02):
this up. Are you going to run it back? Lebron's
going to be older, AD's off his best year. You're
going to pay Austin Reeves all that money he was
sort of exposed. You're getting rid of D'Angelo Russell obviously,
Malik Beasley. I mean, you know you're moving off certain guys,
but you know, when I suggest that, I'm not sure
(13:25):
I'm not sure what you do with Lebron and a D.
I mean this, they overachieved. If the Celtics are underachieving,
the Lakers are overachieving. I mean, this really is when
I know it, Laker fans want to point fingers at
Darvin Hamm or Lebron James. Your best player shows up
every other game offensively ad Lebron's thirty eight years old
(13:47):
can be brilliant in spurts, but disappears. Austin Reeves is undrafted.
He is what he is, athletically good three point shooter
in the series, but he is what he is. And
DiAngelo Russell's a flake. That's the team. I mean. Ruey
Hachama is not going to take and carry and be
essential to win a championship. Keep him fine. It's like
(14:07):
KCP KCP never afraid to take a big shot. I
love him. You can win with him, you can win
without him. I feel the same way with Ruey. Win
with him when without him he's not essential. They'll probably
keep him good. Lank can hit a three. This team
doesn't have a lot of guys they hit the three.
Reeves Ruey can hit threes. Lebron certainly can't. But you know,
I said this all year, I didn't see this as
(14:28):
a championship team and getting probably swept or a gentleman's sweep.
They're not a championship team. They're not close to Denver.
I don't think they're close to Miami. They probably could
beat Boston right now because of their coaching inn amptitude.
But remember, the Lakers did get a little break because
both of the Memphis Grizzlies bigs, Brendan Clark and Steven Adams,
(14:50):
were hurt. They faced a very immature team that had
had Jah Morant turmoil and chaos, and it was missing
their two bigs. It was a small, immature Grizzlies team.
Then they face the Warriors, a very small, steph reliant
Warriors team that Steve Kerr noted they weren't a championship
team this year. They had one of the league's worst
road records, and then all of a sudden, they faced
(15:11):
a big, athletic, long Nuggets team. And they're not getting
any of those free, cheap gimmes they got against the
Grizzlies and the Warriors when they'd score eight to ten
points per game just on size and length and tipping
it around, volleyballing it around. They're not getting that against Denver.
They have to earn their points, and it's a low
(15:31):
ceiling offense. On the nights that Anthony Davis is engaged,
it can be really strong. He's that's every other night.
So I don't know when I suggest you know this
is the moment to move off AD. He stayed healthy,
He's relevant. He was against Memphis and Golden State absolutely
(15:51):
utterly dominant. He's got value. Going to cross your fingers
and bring it back to me. Rob pulling the jam
deserves a ton of credit, and I'd said this throughout
the season. He made the Lakers better. He made the
Lakers good, he didn't make them great. There's only so
much you can do. With the trade deadline. He got
(16:12):
rid of toxicity with Westbrook that immediately became a better
defensive team. And the guys that should have been taking
the shots, Lebron, Anthony Davis, Ruey, Austin Reeves were taking
the shots. He used length, Ruy and Vanderbilt Jared Vanderbilt
to his advantage. I thought he was a good adjuster
game to game. Not maybe as good in game, but
(16:33):
game to game he made nice adjustments. They're fine with
Darvin Ham, but you know you bring it back. You
know the Warriors are going to make a big move.
Denver's not going anywhere. There's a lot of talk now
about the Dallas Mavericks getting DeAndre Ayton. Phoenix is going
to make moves Memphis. You'll get a better version of
(16:54):
Memphis next year. Whatever Memphis is, I'll probably have Steven
Adams back. So I think these are legitimate questions, Whereas
with the Celtics, I think it's a new coach issue.
I'd like to see another point guard. With the Lakers,
there's a real argument this team overachieved. The West was
(17:14):
weird and wonky. They may want to they might want
they may want to take a big, big swing here.
I don't think it's crazy. You're gonna run it back.
Lebron's not getting younger Anthony Davis. This is what he
is now, great every other game. Austin Reeves is not
getting more athletic and more dynamic shoots, good threes, creates contact.
(17:38):
Nice players should be the fifth best starter, maybe fourth,
on a championship level team. I'd take a big swing
if I was the Lakers, big brand, big swing, all right,
instant reaction, fun stuff over the weekend. Back on FS
one tomorrow with Jay Mac Premiere Radio. Two best players
in this series have been Jamal Murray and Jokic, and
(18:00):
they're both in their athletic prime. It's just not that
complicated the Volume. Make sure to check out The Draymond
(18:25):
Green Show. I brought Draymond Green into the volume because
one of the more entertaining voices in sports. Unique perspective
understands behind the rope. Also chops up with guests like
Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download The
Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcasts, only on
the Volume Podcast Network.
The volume. Hi, everybody, instant reaction. I decided to do
this instant reaction. And the Celtics heat game, there's still
a couple of minutes remaining. There were warning signs now,
(00:25):
I you know, I just thought there was such a
talent disparity with Boston and Miami. But remember during the
Atlanta series with the Celtics, and remember Quinn Snyder got
hired by Atlanta by the Hawks in late February. All Right,
so he's implementing a system in season. That's not easy.
(00:46):
Quinn Snyder's an excellent coach, right, we know that he
got worn out of Utah. They didn't get tired of him.
He got tired of them. He didn't think he could
compete at the highest levels. So he had Donovan Mitchell
and Rudy Gobairt didn't get along. There was infighting, and
he just said I'm done. But if you go back
(01:06):
to Game three of that series, Atlanta scored one hundred
and thirty points on these Celtics. Game four, Atlanta scored
one hundred twenty one. Game five they scored one hundred
and nineteen. Game six, one hundred and twenty. Remember during
that series, we kept saying boy, Atlanta's getting a lot
of good looks. Quinn Snyder in that series got buried
(01:28):
in game one, started making adjustments as an excellent coach.
That was a very competitive six game series, and Game
six the Celtics won that one twenty eight one twenty.
Remember that game though, it was in doubt with about
three and a half minutes to go, and then you
look at Philadelphia. Good God, the Sixers have to be humiliated.
(01:52):
I mean, the Celtics disposed of them in Game six
and seven, but now you look at it and think, boy, Philadelphia,
they got real issues. Mike Budenholzer won one game against Miami.
So first of all, my takeaway is before we bury
the Celtics, I've had six or seven doctors in my life.
(02:14):
I had a bad doctor, and think of what you
have to go through to get licensed to be a doctor.
We've had bad pilots, bad doctors, bad lawyers. I've had
a bad lawyer years ago. Think what you have to
go through to be a lawyer. There's a lot of
average coaches in the NBA, and we've seen Eric Spolstra
expose them right. Coaches like Doc Rivers who are more
(02:39):
culture based, not really adjustment Maven's and I think Joe
Missoula for the Celtics is completely over his head. You know,
a good coach will find your weaknesses. You know, they'll
attack your weakest defender. They'll find mismatches throughout the course
of a series or a game and attack. Attack forced
you to make a chess move. Joe Mizzoula doesn't. I
(03:01):
feel like Joe Mizzoula is playing defense against Eric Spolstra.
I think the Heat were aggressive, They're attacking, They're creating
mismatched situations. It feels like I really felt about eight
minutes into this game. I think the Boston players don't
buy into Joe Miszula. So it's easy today, Let's trade everybody.
It happens. You got to get rid of the coach.
(03:23):
You can't go from last year's Celtics team defensively to
this mess. Atlanta scored one hundred and twenty plus, they
got rid of their coach. Of Philadelphia an uneven team
with you know, Harden. Every other game is awful. Maxi
is ascending, but he's not there as a two. Tobias
Harris is an overpaid three, probably a four, and Embiid
(03:46):
was banged up. They took the Celtics seven. So listen, man,
there is a gap between Eric Spolstra and the rest
of the Eastern coaches, and you are seeing it, and
so I think you just have to move on. Remember
the Arizona Cardinal Steve Wilkes one year boom Cleveland Browns
Freddie Kitchens didn't give him very long. You got into
(04:06):
that situation you had to hire a new coach because
the previous coach, who you really liked, a defensive specialist,
a stickler for details, got you to the finals where
you really outplayed the Warriors in the finals two to
three games. Jason Tatum was banged up and kind of
fell apart. That was a well coached series. You just
ran out of gas against the Warriors last year. This
(04:29):
team's poorly coached defense is a mess with the same
dudes mostly from last year. So do I think the Celtics,
because they underachieved, have to tweak beyond that? I think
the Tatum Brown thing is never going to be ideal.
Should be noted d Wade and Lebron were not a
(04:49):
perfect fit. There's been all sorts of great fits stocked
in them alone without titles and weird fits d Wade
and Lebron kind of the same player, neither a great
limit player, both can drive and score, both physical, both defend,
both really strong for their size. That wasn't perfect. They
made it work, so you don't have to be ideal.
(05:10):
Not everybody's going to be Jokich and Jamal Murray this
year where the big, the perimeter player, both of the
chip on their shoulder, both in their athletic prime. You know,
I feel like you know Jalen Brown and Tatum you
get your wings. Marcus Smart's not your classic point guard.
He's a defensive guard. I think they have to not reboot,
(05:31):
but slightly reconstruct this team. I feel too often it
takes them a while to get into a play. Too
much dribbling takes them a while to get into a play.
I wish they had somebody that could just a confident
floor leader that could hit threes. Jordan Poole won't happen,
but throw it out there. They need somebody with confidence
(05:52):
that can shoot the big three. You could have somebody
that doesn't have to be a great defender. Because Robert
Williams is Tatum, is Brown, is Marcus Smart is Al
Horford's not but you don't need a great defender. Give
me somebody who's confident, who can hit a three. I
don't care if they make mistakes. That's why I've mentioned
Jordan Poole. This team needs somebody to get the Celtics
(06:15):
into the play. I don't trust them in tight games.
I don't trust them sometimes. I feel like they're just
missing their quarterback. They've got multiple wide receivers, they don't
have a quarterback, and I don't like Tatum in that role,
and I mostly don't love Jalen Brown in that role.
I don't think you have to make sweeping changes, but
(06:37):
I'd rework the point guard space for them. You know,
as far as the Miami Heat go, I have no
problem with the Miami Heat Denver Nuggets final. It will
not rate from a TV perspective. You know Denver and Miami.
Miami's got a great brand, Denver doesn't. I think it'll
be a fascinating series. I think the size, length and
offensive excellence of Denver is going to and I think
(07:01):
they're well coached. It could be a lot for Miami
to handle. Miami's doing a lot of this on coaching
and self belief. They're not this good But when you
have massive coaching mismatches, this is what a series looks like.
I mean, Eric Spolstra against Mike Budenholzer, it's a mismatch.
Eric Spolstra against Joe Missoula, it's a mismatch. I remember
(07:22):
when Nick Saban got to the SEC. You know, Nick Smart.
Nick Saban in recent years didn't get dumb. He's just
facing better coaches. Lane Kiffin's now in there, Kirby Smart's
now in there. Some of the bigger programs have really
bright young coaches. It's not like Nick Saban can't coach.
He got dumber. He's got worse players. He just had
(07:44):
Bryce Young. He's got great quarterback play, star receiver, stars everywhere.
But when he walked into that conference, I mean there
was a bunch of C and D level coaches and
Nick Saban walked all over them. And I think, I
think Eric Spolstra and his staff look around and it's
really jv. I mean, Tibbs is all about defense and effort. Budenholzer,
(08:10):
you know, couldn't figure out some basic late game situational coaching.
Missoula is completely over his skis. So this is a
lot of coaching and self belief. I don't think you
blow the Celtics up. I think you fire the coach,
get a new guy, and figure out the defense with
the better coach will be fine. It's got good length.
(08:32):
You have a lot of guys in their prime. I
mean your stars, Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, all
good defenders, all plus defenders. That's not the issue. Got
to get a real coach, give me a floor. General
just it just seems too hard too often for them. Offensively.
Miami's going to go on an underdog to Denver. They
(08:53):
should put a great story. There's a reason they call
it heat culture. We see this all the time in
sports and it all so can I throw this out there.
It validates Lebron James going to Miami. It does make
me question why he ever left. I think Lebron didn't
like to be the NBA's villain, so he went back
to Cleveland. But I absolutely believe if he stays, he
(09:16):
wins titles. Probably not. The following year Dwayne Wade was aging.
They had to make some moves. Chris Bosh not long
after that had a health issue, a medical issue. But
it really does make you look at Lebron going to
Miami and Lebron's made really good business decisions in his career.
(09:39):
You choose Spolstra, you choose d Wade, you choose pat Riley.
Look at what they're doing. I mean this is I
don't remember ever seeing a favorite Boston go into a
series and get humiliated. I couldn't take the last time
a favorite open a series at home and lost both games.
(10:01):
I'm sure it's happened recently, I don't remember it. Quick
break thoughts on the Lakers Nuggets Next? How great have
the NBA playoffs been so far? If you live in
one of those cities and wanted to go to the games,
there is only one place to get tickets. The game
Time App, the fastest growing ticketing app in the US
(10:25):
for last minute amazing deals. They don't stop with the NBA.
They do baseball, hockey, concerts, comedy shows too. Download the
game Time App and use the code colin cliin get
twenty dollars off your first purchase twenty bucks off first purchase.
(10:47):
Terms apply again. Download the game Time App use the
code colin celi in last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed.
The game Time app the fastest growing sports app in
the United States use the code Colin C l N.
(11:14):
All right, So the Lakers may salvage a game against
the Nuggets, but the Nuggets are longer, they're more dynamic,
they have more good shot makers. Just think about it
this way, generally speaking, generally, if you have a competent coach,
the Celtics don't. Darvin Ham's a competent coach. If you
have a competent coach, whatever teams stars or in their
(11:36):
prime is a big advantage. Jamal Murray's in his prime,
Jokic in his prime, Michael Porter in his prime, Lebron's
four years pasted it, and ad in my opinion, has
several good years left. But I think because of his
early injuries, he's you're either pre prime, prime or post prime.
(11:58):
He's post prime, he just entered post. Austin Reeves is
limited athletically. D'Angelo Russell is a bounce around the league guy. Talented,
but you saw in this series he's a bounce around
the league guy. There's a reason the Warriors gave up
on him, the Lakers did, the t Wolves did, and
the Lakers will again. He's a bounce around the league guy. Immature,
not consistent. I don't think he's a terribly smart basketball
(12:19):
player on the floor. He doesn't play smart basketball. Lebron
demands that, so but it is interesting. I mean, Denver's
a better team with more shot makers. Let's just right there.
You can blame it on Lebron, but if you look
at Lebron's points, rebounds, and assists per game in this series,
it's on Larry Bird's career average in the postseason. It's
(12:41):
not Lebron. Yes, he's shooting way too many threes late
in the game. That's to conserve energy. But he you know,
he's giving you about twenty three points, you know, tenn assists,
nine rebounds. That's not the issue. The issue is the
further you go in the postseason in the NBA, often
your your role players shrink. And that's why I bring
(13:02):
this up. Are you going to run it back? Lebron's
going to be older, AD's off his best year. You're
going to pay Austin Reeves all that money he was
sort of exposed. You're getting rid of D'Angelo Russell obviously,
Malik Beasley. I mean, you know you're moving off certain guys,
but you know, when I suggest that, I'm not sure
(13:25):
I'm not sure what you do with Lebron and a D.
I mean this, they overachieved. If the Celtics are underachieving,
the Lakers are overachieving. I mean, this really is when
I know it, Laker fans want to point fingers at
Darvin Hamm or Lebron James. Your best player shows up
every other game offensively ad Lebron's thirty eight years old
(13:47):
can be brilliant in spurts, but disappears. Austin Reeves is undrafted.
He is what he is, athletically good three point shooter
in the series, but he is what he is. And
DiAngelo Russell's a flake. That's the team. I mean. Ruey
Hachama is not going to take and carry and be
essential to win a championship. Keep him fine. It's like
(14:07):
KCP KCP never afraid to take a big shot. I
love him. You can win with him, you can win
without him. I feel the same way with Ruey. Win
with him when without him he's not essential. They'll probably
keep him good. Lank can hit a three. This team
doesn't have a lot of guys they hit the three.
Reeves Ruey can hit threes. Lebron certainly can't. But you know,
I said this all year, I didn't see this as
(14:28):
a championship team and getting probably swept or a gentleman's sweep.
They're not a championship team. They're not close to Denver.
I don't think they're close to Miami. They probably could
beat Boston right now because of their coaching inn amptitude.
But remember, the Lakers did get a little break because
both of the Memphis Grizzlies bigs, Brendan Clark and Steven Adams,
(14:50):
were hurt. They faced a very immature team that had
had Jah Morant turmoil and chaos, and it was missing
their two bigs. It was a small, immature Grizzlies team.
Then they face the Warriors, a very small, steph reliant
Warriors team that Steve Kerr noted they weren't a championship
team this year. They had one of the league's worst
road records, and then all of a sudden, they faced
(15:11):
a big, athletic, long Nuggets team. And they're not getting
any of those free, cheap gimmes they got against the
Grizzlies and the Warriors when they'd score eight to ten
points per game just on size and length and tipping
it around, volleyballing it around. They're not getting that against Denver.
They have to earn their points, and it's a low
(15:31):
ceiling offense. On the nights that Anthony Davis is engaged,
it can be really strong. He's that's every other night.
So I don't know when I suggest you know this
is the moment to move off AD. He stayed healthy,
He's relevant. He was against Memphis and Golden State absolutely
(15:51):
utterly dominant. He's got value. Going to cross your fingers
and bring it back to me. Rob pulling the jam
deserves a ton of credit, and I'd said this throughout
the season. He made the Lakers better. He made the
Lakers good, he didn't make them great. There's only so
much you can do. With the trade deadline. He got
(16:12):
rid of toxicity with Westbrook that immediately became a better
defensive team. And the guys that should have been taking
the shots, Lebron, Anthony Davis, Ruey, Austin Reeves were taking
the shots. He used length, Ruy and Vanderbilt Jared Vanderbilt
to his advantage. I thought he was a good adjuster
game to game. Not maybe as good in game, but
(16:33):
game to game he made nice adjustments. They're fine with
Darvin Ham, but you know you bring it back. You
know the Warriors are going to make a big move.
Denver's not going anywhere. There's a lot of talk now
about the Dallas Mavericks getting DeAndre Ayton. Phoenix is going
to make moves Memphis. You'll get a better version of
(16:54):
Memphis next year. Whatever Memphis is, I'll probably have Steven
Adams back. So I think these are legitimate questions, Whereas
with the Celtics, I think it's a new coach issue.
I'd like to see another point guard. With the Lakers,
there's a real argument this team overachieved. The West was
(17:14):
weird and wonky. They may want to they might want
they may want to take a big, big swing here.
I don't think it's crazy. You're gonna run it back.
Lebron's not getting younger Anthony Davis. This is what he
is now, great every other game. Austin Reeves is not
getting more athletic and more dynamic shoots, good threes, creates contact.
(17:38):
Nice players should be the fifth best starter, maybe fourth,
on a championship level team. I'd take a big swing
if I was the Lakers, big brand, big swing, all right,
instant reaction, fun stuff over the weekend. Back on FS
one tomorrow with Jay Mac Premiere Radio. Two best players
in this series have been Jamal Murray and Jokic, and
(18:00):
they're both in their athletic prime. It's just not that
complicated the Volume. Make sure to check out The Draymond
(18:25):
Green Show. I brought Draymond Green into the volume because
one of the more entertaining voices in sports. Unique perspective
understands behind the rope. Also chops up with guests like
Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download The
Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcasts, only on
the Volume Podcast Network.
Host
Colin Cowherd
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.